


A Better Tomorrow

by BloodyBacon



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Fluff, Crying, Cute, Cute Ending, Cute Kids, Cutesy, Embarrassment, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Happy, Happy Ending, Light-Hearted, M/M, No Smut, Sad, Sad and Sweet, Shotacon, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:40:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28055517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodyBacon/pseuds/BloodyBacon
Summary: Clive is going door to door telling people he's a sex offender when he meets a nice family-
Relationships: Clive/Luke Triton
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	A Better Tomorrow

Luke stood in front of the door, staring at the neighbor through the peephole as he crossed the street, Luke had just now moved here, and he wanted to get to know the other so bad. He'd seen him walking from door to door to door, but he'd yet to stop here. 

Until now, Luke sighed, and looked at the man as he came tiredly walking over. He looked strong, he had a tattoo under his eye of a few tick marks. He was dressed in a casual dark blue suit, bags under his eyes as he knocked on the door. 

Luke answered it, opening up, watching his face turn from blank to beet red in an instant, "oh- uh- hm. Are your- parents home?"

"..." Luke just stared at him, before his legs began to feel weak. "H- hh- hiii-" he wheezed out, and the man just took a slow step back ..

"I- uh-" He scratched his neck, "L-look- I'm Clive- i just moved here and I- I'm legally required to tell everyone i'm a sex offender- so- t-tell your parents- or something-" He said, starting to walk away, before a calm voice rang through his ears. 

Luke just stood there, frozen as his mom came down the stairs, "Luke, baby who's at the door?" She asked, before spotting him. 

"C-Clive-" Luke said, covering his face as he rushed behind her, holding onto her leg. Clive was frozen, shit, fuck, why? 

"Hello, Clive, is it?"

"Ah- yeah-" 

"It's been a while since we've had new neighbors, why don't you come in for some tea?"

"N-no i'm good- it's really not a good Idea since I was just coming to tell you I-"

"Nonsense! I love welcoming all the new neighbors, you're not busy are you?" She asked, and Clive tried to rationalize the situation. 

This woman … Was so .. tiny. And her son was even smaller .. it was great. But- Jail isn't great. But she's just trying to be nice- she's just being friendly to her neighbor, it's not her fault,  _ go have tea. _

"Uh- i'm- im not busy at the moment per se- but- i'd-" 

"Oh that's perfect! Come in, come in-" She said. Moving out of the way. Clive just sighed, and walked inside, no way could he tell her now. Right? 

The house was nice, white furniture in a modern style living-room, TV mounted on the wall in all of it's 100 inch glory. He took a seat on the long couch, able to see his reflection in the marble floors. 

"Excuse my sweet boy, he's a little shy, I've seen him peek out at you a few times though, so he definitely likes you-" She gave Luke a pat on the head, and the boy looked down, trembling. 

"Luke, go keep our guest company, okay?"

"O-okay-" Luke said, slowly shuffling over to the couch. Just watching him climb up onto it and roll over before sitting up, cute, too cute. Clive stared down at his hands as Luke stared at him. 

The boy was just wondering what he could say, swinging his legs from anxious habit, rubbing his hands and fingers together. 

"S-so- your name is Luke?" Clive asked, sweating bullets through his forehead. Luke nodded, and Clive hummed. 

"Can you spell it?"

"Umh" Luke looked down at the floor, "L- U- C- K- E-" he said. 

Lucke. 

"You're so smart!" Clive cheered for him, and he smiled, blushing a little bit. Clive wondered how old he was, what grade he was in, if he was in school at all by now. He wondered what the boy liked to eat, liked to do for fun, liked to watch on tv. 

“Thank you-!” Luke said, “do you like dogs?” He asked, and Clive looked up, before thinking about it …

He hated dogs,  _ specifically K-9 police dogs but ..  _

“Well, small dogs are okay- I like puppies-”

“Me too! My birthday is tomorrow! Can you get me a puppy pleeeaaaasee?” Luke asked, before His mom came back with a tray of tea in her hands. “Luke, don’t go asking this man for things, now, Your dad can get you a puppy-” 

“Awww but he said that last year!” Luke huffed, crossing his arms. Clive just chuckled as he was given a cup of hot lemon tea. It smelled different from the stuff in the store, like it was home made. “I wouldn’t mind getting him something, it is his birthday ..” He said. 

She smiled, “Well, you don’t need to- Oh! Where is my head? I’m Brenda-” She said, “and this little monster is Luke- ah- And my husband could be here any minute now, His name’s Clark, we’re all very happy to meet you-” She said, sitting down next to him with a cup of tea and Luke in her lap. 

“You look much too young to be married, let alone have a son- but- he’s pretty small anyways-” Clive said, taking a sip of the tea. It was .. so incredibly sweet. It tasted like warmth and summer and love and care and even a little honey? Yet it was sort of sour, in a good way, that is. She laughed, “You’re too kind! You don’t look a day over twenty-” 

“.. w-well- I am- twenty-” Clive said, not quite knowing how to converse.

“Ah- you’re so young! If I didn’t know any better I would have thought you were still in highschool-” 

“..” Clive turned red, “well- it was just two years ago if you think about it, not much time has passed, huh?” He said, looking down at the cup. 

“So - how’s the adult life been treating you?” She asked in a sort of snarky way, it was cute. Clive shrugged, “It’s been … easier than I thought, but hard at the same time .. do you work?” He tried to change the subject, and she nodded as Luke took the cup of tea from her. He drank a little of it as she spoke. “I work from home selling the stuff I knit-”

“You knit?”

“Yeah! And Luke helps me out, he makes little baby shoes and he’s pretty good at it!” She said. Luke nodded, “I made shoes for my baby sister!” He said. Brenda huffed, pinching his cheeks, “Lukey, I told you not to tell anyone! It’s a surprise for daddy-” She said. 

“... you’re pregnant?” Clive asked, and she nodded. “I just found out a week ago- I’m gonna call her Flora, I think-” She said, setting the empty teacup down on the couch. “We would love for you to come to Luke’s birthday party tomorrow, He hasn’t made many friends at school since he’s so shy- and maybe even the baby shower in a few months? I know you don’t really know us or anything but you’re always welcome here, okay?”

“..mm” He nodded, and Luke smiled, “So you’ll be there?!” 

“.. y-yeah-” Clive said, setting the cup of tea down. “And you’ll bring me a puppy?” He asked, eyes wide with hope. Clive looked at him, and felt something stab him through the heart. He nodded, “I’ll bring you a puppy-” He agreed, just wanting to see the look on the boy’s face. 

He started pulling at his mom’s arm, asking if she heard what he’d said, he was getting a puppy! A puppy! A real puppy!” 

“Oh, now you’ve done it-” Brenda sighed, putting her fingers through his hair. “You’d better keep that promise, young man.” She said. Clive couldn’t help but laugh a little, before getting up, “It was nice meeting you- but i think it’s time I leave-” he said. 

She seemed sad, but understanding, giving a simple nod, “You could have at least finished your tea- do come back sometime, okay?” 

“Of course-” Clive said, and Luke waved at him, “Byee!” He said, and Clive waved back, about to open the door before it was opened for him. 

To be honest …  _ he was trying to run away before the guy got back. _ Clive stood in front of the doorway, they were face to face now, Clive had no idea what to say, so he just stood there for a few seconds wondering if this was how his life would end. 

“A visitor!” The man happily said, grabbing Clive’s hand. He shook him, and Clive made a panicked sound, being pulled back into the house. 

“Claark!” Brenda got up, and so did Luke, forcing Clive in the middle of their family group hug. He managed to squeeze out of it, watching in a startled silence as they all greeted each other. He tried to leave again, before a strong arm came around his shoulder. 

Clark was- a big bearded, broad shouldered man with brown hair and a suit that smelled like cologne. Clive was guessing he’d just gotten back home from work, “This is my friend! Clive!” Luke said, pointing up at him. Brenda nodded, “He’s just moved here from, ah- where are you from?” She asked, and Clive turned red.

“T- Turkey-” 

“Oh wow! That’s a long ways away-” Clark said. “Did you just get here today?” 

“N-no i’ve been here for- a few months-” He said, “I just- moved here Today-” 

“Ah- so what brought you here? Did you need something? Don’t be afraid to ask-” He said, and Luke spoke up. 

“He told me to tell you he’s a- um- sex defender?” 

The room got quiet … and Clive let out a sigh. “Y-yes- I- um-” He felt his heart start to throb in his chest as Clark took his arm off of his shoulder, and put it around his wife in a sort of protective gesture. 

“I came by because, you know, I’m- required to tell you .. and it’d be-” He cleared his throat, “Less trouble for the police to alert you- ah- so- I’ll just- be going-” He said. 

It was quiet, they were finally letting him leave without pulling on his sleeves to get him to stay. He felt bad that he couldn’t say it himself, he was so ashamed of it, and seeing such a happy family, a mom, a dad, a cute little boy, and a baby on the way.

It honestly made him start shedding tears as he walked home, thinking about whether or not he’d have a chance to make his own life like that. He was a little jealous of Luke, if he could be honest. He wiped his face, hoping to god nobody could see him right now. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stared down at his laptop screen, scratching at the tattoo under his eye, wondering if there was any way to remove it that wouldn’t be extremely painful. He typed as fast as he could, trying to get all of his work done for this week so he’d have the rest of the time to himself. He was on good pace too, putting in a little line of code to make his entire program run smoother than butter before there was a light knock at the door. 

It was so quiet he almost completely ignored it, thinking that maybe it was just in his imagination or something. It wasn’t until it happened again that he actually decided to get up, sighing as he set his laptop down. At least he was dressed, if a hoodie and some briefs counted as clothes. 

He walked over to his door, and opened it, thinking someone had been pranking him for a second before he looked down, seeing Luke standing there, with an upset look on his face. His cheeks were all puffed out, and his fists were clenched. 

“Liar-” He huffed, “You said you’d come to my birthday!” He yelled, looking up at Clive with a face full of tears. “You promised!” He stomped his little foot, and Clive … smiled. 

“I’m- sorry-” He said, kneeling down, putting his arms around Luke. “I’m so sorry-” He repeated. “I wanted to go- I really did, you have to believe that- I’m so sorry.” He said, hugging him. He fought to keep Luke from crying over it, he wouldn’t be able to take the pain of hurting another kid. How was it possible for the guilt of something to linger with him this much? 

“And you said you would get me a puppy ..”

“..” Clive nuzzled him, and stood, holding Luke in his arms. “Do your parents know you came here?” He asked, “they care a lot about you, you know, you shouldn’t run off without telling them, you could get seriously hurt- and when you’re hurt, they’ll be hurt too-” Clive said. Luke looked away, “no ..” he admitted, and Clive smiled. 

“ … how about this .. I’ll come over tomorrow- okay?” 

“You will?” 

“Yeah, and I’ll bring your puppy-” 

Luke let out the biggest “YAY” Clive had ever seen a kid yell as he set the boy down on his feet. “But - from now on- if you want to see me- you HAVE to tell your parents, no more running away- okay?”

“Okay!”

  
“And .. h-happy birthday-” Clive said, pulling away from the door. Luke smiled, “I’m four now! Older than you-” He confidently said, and Clive nodded. “Old man, now go home, alright?” 

“Okay … bye- don’t forget me!” Luke said, getting a hum in approval as Clive shut the door. He watched Luke stand there for a second through the window, and then turn away, running off with his short legs. He seemed so happy … Clive just wondered how he’d found out which house was his own. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive waited at the door, having pressed the doorbell once. He didn’t know what he was expecting to happen, but he felt relief hearing the sound of little feet hitting the staircase on their way down. He could hear Luke’s voice yelling, “It’s Clive this tiiiime!!!” as he hit his hands against the door. 

“I can’t reach!” He whined, and there was a chuckle from behind him, his dad. The door opened, and Clive looked up at him, before nervously smiling, “um- h-hey-” he said. 

“Oh- it’s you! We were worried about you, the way you just ran off before we had a chance to have a proper conversation was a little rude don’t you think?” He said, and Clive… nearly broke down right there. “I- uh- I just- figured you wouldn’t be- comfortable-”

“Well, there’s such a thing as second chances.” He said, and Luke broke through the door, looking at the tiny hairball Clive held in his hands. It looked like some sort of poodle, extremely fluffy, and pure white, to match their house. It was asleep, “pupppyy!!” Luke yelled, and Clive smiled, holding it out with both hands. The animal was so tiny, it made Luke look giant. The boy looked like he was about to cry, holding it in his arms as he walked over to the couch and laid it down as gently as possible. 

Clive … sighed, wishing he could just have Luke and ditch everyone else around them. What he wouldn’t give to run away with him or something. 

“Oh, my-” Clark sighed, “well, he’s finally got his puppy .. would you like to come in?” He asked, opening the door a little more. Clive stood there for a second, before looking away, “uh- I’d feel- weird- personally- sorry- but- maybe some other time ..”

“... your tea is still in the fridge, you know- I keep telling her to throw it out but she’s convinced you’ll come back to finish it …”

“...” Clive sighed, “I see …” he said. 

_ It was so cute,  _ he could just imagine her refusing to throw it out, puffing her cheeks out just like Luke does. 

“M-maybe another day- when I’m not so- busy-” He said, and Clark nodded, “Either way, it was nice to see you again, if you can, it’d be pretty convenient if you could bring by some dog food and things like that, I … wasn’t exactly planning on getting a pet, but i suppose it’s too late now- huh?” 

“Oh- of course! I’ll be back with it tomorrow-” He said, getting a kind of wind knocking pat on the back from Clark as he left. “That’d be nice! See you tomorrow-!” 

“Y-yeah-” 

The door shut … Clive sighed, right, dog food. 

The door opened again, “Oh! And while you’re at it!” Brenda stuck her head out, “Some rice would be very appreciated! I’ll pay you back-” She said. Clive hummed, wondering why they didn’t just go get the stuff themselves. 

“Sure- i’ll be back with it sometime later-”

“Oh you could just get it the day after tomorrow!”

“S-sounds fine-” Clive said, waving her off. The door shut, and he sighed … rice, dog food, was the list gonna get any bigger? 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_ In the end, they continued asking him to get things, paying him back for all of it, whatever it took to keep him coming back to their house and spending a little time with them. Eventually he caught on, but by then, he’d been there for so long that he wasn’t so opposed to staying anymore. _


End file.
